Psací stroj také dokáže zpívat: Výstava moderní a současné české literatury

Typeset Hopes and Dreams: Exhibition on Contemporary Czech Literature

【Czech literature is in full bloom】

The Czech nationalist movement of the 19th century reignited Czech ethnic consciousness. 20th century experiences including the First Czechoslovak Republic, periods of Austro-Hungarian and Nazi German suzerainty, and the rise of proletarian socialist thought have since led the Czech people on an ardent, ever-evolving search for linguistic and political self-consciousness.

The decades following Czech’s formal acceptance as a national language are peppered with exceptional literary works by pioneering authors of the age that spotlight the brilliant cultural and linguistic nuances of the Czech nation. Contemporary writers conveyed their patriotic pride by composing compelling and relatable stories in Czech vernacular. This was also the era of Kafka and his brilliant literary works in German. The Czech literary garden was truly in full bloom.

【Clean Surface, Noisy Underground】

The return to communist authoritarianism in Czechoslovakia during the Normalizace period immediately following the country’s brief-lived 1968 “Prague Spring” led directly to the flowering of samizdat (dissident) literature and publishing. Although authors and other thought leaders appeared to have returned to the straight and narrow and dissident voices to have been silenced, beneath this deceptively “clean” surface were secretly produced and shared works filled with noisy commentaries, discussions and debates on issues of the day. These underground publications were generally hand-typed by their authors and published and distributed illicitly.

While author Bohumil Hrabal self-effacingly denounced his earlier infringements of party doctrine to earn government approval to publish openly, Ivan Klíma relied exclusively on underground and secret publishing networks to distribute his works. The opposite strategies used by these two authors authentically capture the face of thought control and dissident literature under communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

【Into Exile or Politics】

The crystallization of communist control in Czechoslovakia in 1948 initiated a steady exodus of Czech writers into exile overseas, where many new works of Czech literature would be first published. Brutal suppression of the Prague Spring Movement followed by new government publishing strictures and a sweeping political purge tightened the noose around the country’s intellectuals. In addition to the underground publishing network, publishing in exile became increasingly common. Toronto-based 68 Publishers, established by Czech expatriates in 1971, regularly published works in Czech and Slovak by authors-in-exile as well as books banned from publication in communist-controlled Czechoslovakia. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, written by France-based Czechoslovakian author-in-exile Milan Kundera, was first published by 68 Publishers.

Also during this period, authors poured both their ink and reputational gravitas into political activism. Examples include the 1968 Two Thousand Words manifesto written by author Ludvík Vaculík and the “Charta 77” initiative founded in 1977 by Václav Havel and other intellectuals. Actions such as these paved the way to the 1989 Sametová Revoluce (Velvet Revolution) and testify to the efforts made by Czech writers to resist authoritarianism.

【A New Era of Flourishing Literature】

Czechoslovakia entered a new era of freedom and democracy in the wake of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Once-banned literature could now be openly read and circulated, and a new generation of authors such as Michal Viewegh and Miloš Urban were free to express their talent. His easy-flowing, romantic novels steeped in Czech history and culture made Viewegh one of this period’s most popular authors, while Urban’s classic thriller / horror novels secured his now-iconic status in these genres. Younger Czech writers who had come of age behind the Iron Curtain and been barred by authorities from pursuing a normal education and career took up work where they could, and now nourish their literary efforts with these unique experiences.

As in Taiwan following the end of Martial Law in the 1980s, the end of authoritarian rule in Czechoslovakia opened the door onto a diverse and vigorous literary landscape. Furthermore, in step with the country’s political and social spheres, the democratization of its literary world has opened new horizons and possibilities for Czechia’s latest literary revival.
  

【Czechia and Taiwan: A Literary Dialogue】

Taiwan, with its similarly checkered history of political oppression and subjugation, has embraced works of Czech literature and art, especially classic modernist efforts, through the years. Although their autocratic pasts differ in many important respects, Taiwan and Czechia have both lived through the “undergrounding” of literary and other creative works censored or banned by their governments. The works of banned and dissident authors like Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera, Bohumil Hrabal, and others have not only inspired and influenced generations of Taiwanese readers; they have created the solid foundation upon which Czech literature is continuing to engage with Taiwan.

The pace of bilateral literary sharing and exchange has picked up significantly in the 21st century, with a rising number of Taiwan and Czech literary works in translation now being published in both countries. This exhibition spotlights the current state and standout accomplishments of contemporary cultural exchange between Taiwan and Czechia.